Last night, I visited my aunt. You recall she has been in an adult foster home since mid-June. My aunt was sitting in her wheel chair, belted in. She was watching TV. I sat down beside her and asked how she was. She remarked she was a bit tired from her walk. ‘Walk?’ I asked. Yes, she had walked to the foster home, but could not recall who she was visiting. “What else did you do today?” I asked. She told me about being home and working about the house, moving things here and there. She told me she really needed to get the driveway cleared off before Summer was over; maybe have a sale or two.

More conversation and more awareness my aunt was in another dimension. So, I steered the conversation, as I said I would, toward the past. We talked about what an amazing baker her mom had been and how it never got passed on to her daughters. All the daughters had left home as teens to avoid some form of bad ju ju from their abusive father. We talked of dances in the 1930’s and her driving into town at 13 to buy supplies for her dad. She was in good spirits. I stayed long enough to see her into bed. I kissed her goodnight and she thanked me for dropping by to see her.

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On a different note: sorting through the administrative rubble of a hoarder. I went to DMV to seek assistance of filing for a lost title for my dad’s 1965 Chevy wagon. We have looked high and low but no luck. The DMV clerk told me I could not file as there was a lien on the car from 1967. What? Impossible I said, my dad paid cash for the car having saved for years to buy the car. His previous car was a 1948 Buick Roadmaster, the car I learned to drive in. Nope, the clerk said the car had a lien issued by Sears Federal Credit Union.

Huh? Sears Federal Credit Union no longer existed I thought. They gave me the address. I went there. A convention sets atop the site where the Credit Union use to exist. Well maybe they moved. A long search for the new location revealed nothing. I called Sears in Portland. Yes, the credit union no longer existed. All liens had been transferred to Citibank. I call Citibank in N.Y., well they transferred such holdings to Verdugo Financial. Verdugo transferred to City Mortgage. City Mortgage had no records of Sears Federal C.U.

Back to DMV. Sorry DMV says a lien is a lien and must stand. I express some frustration and am referred to the Secretary of States Office re liens and supposedly non-existent business. Huh? Well, I figured this would be a cluster.

To my surprise, I reached a wizard of puzzles. I told him the scenario. He got me on line in the State maze and to a form that I needed to fill out and submit to negate the lien based on the non-existence of the company. Not sure how it will play out.

But, while you are immersed in cleaning up the hoarding mess. Pay particular attention to document (financial, medical, insurance, vehicles, deeds etc.). If you are going to negotiate anything, negotiate the safe storage of these doc’s out of the hoarding environment.

Saying Goodbye

I started this blog to emotionally vent off after several years caring for my dying mother, who was a massive hoarder. It has evolved from grieving the loss of my mom, to cleaning up her massive hoarding mess, to taking on the care of my hoarding Auntie...to her hospice death, to our grieving of her loss and into the cleanup of her massive hoarding home. We have had little respite for several years. We are not unique or worse off than many. I simply write now and then to share, to let go, to maybe help. There is as much wisdom in the comments on this blog than from anything I write. Remarkable visitors.